Dilshan leads SL charge

Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed his sixth century this year to give Sri Lanka a solid start in the crucial third and final Test against India here on Wednesday.

Dilshan made 109 as Sri Lanka, seeking a win to draw the series 1-1, battled a wicket with turn and bounce to pile up 366-8 by close of the opening day's play at the Brabourne stadium.

All-rounder Angelo Mathews returned unbeaten on a career-best 86 as the tourists grabbed the chance to have first strike for the only time in the series after skipper Kumar Sangakkara called correctly.

India, who won the second Test in Kanpur by an innings and 144 runs after the first match in Ahmedabad ended in a high-scoring draw, will dislodge South Africa as the top-ranked Test side if they win the series 2-0.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh picked up four wickets and left-arm slow bowler Pragyan Ojha two as the vintage stadium, hosting a Test after 36 years, laid out a sporting wicket to provide an absorbing day's cricket.

Dilshan, 33, dominated the day with 10 boundaries and two sixes in his 11th career Test century and the second in the series after making 112 at Ahmedabad.

He anchored the innings superbly after a first-wicket stand of 93 in 20 overs with left-handed Tharanga Paranavitana, who made his highest score in the series of 53.

Harbhajan broke through 25 minutes before lunch when he forced Paranavitana to edge a catch to Rahul Dravid at first slip.

India hit back in the afternoon session with three quick wickets as Sri Lanka slumped from the lunch score of 117-1 to 213-4 by tea.

Sangakkara scored 18 when he was caught down the leg-side by wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ojha.

Former skipper Mahela Jayawardene added 59 for the third wicket with Dilshan to lift the tourists to 187-2, when India slammed on the brakes with two wickets in four balls.

Jayawardene (29) hooked Shanthakumaran Sreesanth to fine-leg where Virender Sehwag took a smart catch, before Harbhajan had Thilan Samaraweera caught in the leg-trap for one.

Mathews and Dilshan put Sri Lanka on top again by adding 74 for the fifth wicket when the century-maker fell to a poor decision by umpire Nigel Llong.

The Englishman gave Dilshan caught at short-leg off Harbhajan even as television replays showed the ball go off the batsman's pad to Murali Vijay at forward short-leg.

Prasanna Jayawardene overcame Dilshan's setback by making a fluent 43 with six fours and a six during a sixth-wicket stand of 67 with Mathews.

Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath fell in quick succession, but Muttiah Muralidaran kept Mathews company at close.

Sri Lanka dropped unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis to play a specialist seamer in Kulasekara.

Pakistan's clean sweep

Pakistan overcame a late order flurry from New Zealand to win the second Twenty20 international by seven runs at Dubai Stadium here on Friday, taking the two-match series 2-0.

Teenager Umer Akmal lifted Pakistan to 153-5 before they survived a late charge by Brendon McCullum (47) and Scott Styris (43) to maintain their 100-percent record against New Zealand.

Pakistan, who won the first match by 49 runs here on Thursday, have now won all four Twenty20 matches against the Black Caps.

McCullum and Styris kept New Zealand in the hunt during a 66-run partnership as New Zealand needed 51 off the last five overs and 38 in the last three.

But once big-hitting McCullum holed out to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal in the 19th over, New Zealand's task of making 18 in the last over proved too difficult.

McCullum hit three fours and six off 41 balls.

Paceman Umar Gul dismissed Styris off the last ball to finish with 2-29. Styris's 33-ball knock had two fours and as many sixes.

Styris and McCullum repaired the innings after New Zealand were 66-3 after 11 overs.

BJ Watling (seven), Martin Guptill (17) and Ross Taylor (13) fell in quick succession as Pakistan kept the pressure on from the start.

Pakistan's T20 captain Shahid Afridi said the series win meant a lot after the defeat in the preceding one-day series defeat.

"The Twenty20 victory was the much-needed win for us," said Afridi. "We wanted to bring back smiles on the faces of our fans who were hurt after ODI defeat, so I am very pleased at it."

McCullum, who stood in place of injured Daniel Vettori, said he was satisfied with the performance against the world champions.

"We gave them a run for their money. I knew that even 18 off the last over was possible, but Pakistan is a dangerous side and can do unbelievable things," said McCullum.

Earlier, Pakistan were lifted by Umer Akmal's maiden half-century which kept his team in the hunt for a good total despite paceman Ian Butler's 3-28.

Akmal, whose 49-ball knock included five boundaries and a six, added 45 for the third wicket with Afridi (22) after Pakistan lost the quick wickets of Imran Nazir (19) and Kamran Akmal (26) to Butler.

Butler then dismissed Shoaib Malik (seven) and James Franklin captured Abdul Razzaq (nought) before Umer and Fawad Alam (17 not out) added a quickfire 39 for the fifth wicket.

Nazir and Akmal gave Pakistan a robust start of 40 with Nazir hitting three fours and six, while Kamran hit four boundaries and a six before New Zealand's bowlers slammed on the brakes.

Both teams now head to New Zealand where they play three Tests with the first Test opens in Dunedin from November 25.

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe

Bangladesh trounced a careless Zimbabwe by four wickets in the third one-day international at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday to wrest a 2-1 advantage in the five-match series.

A blitzkrieg knock from Tamim Iqbal, who smashed ten fours and two sixes in his 72-ball 80, and a well-composed half-century by Mohammad Ashraful, 63 in 91 balls, took the Tigers to 198 for six in 40.4 overs. They were chasing a paltry Zimbabwe total of 196 that was made in 41.1 overs after the hosts had won the toss for the first time in the series.

Indeed it was an easy victory in the end for the home side, who were upset by five wickets in the first match, but that did not happen before a late-innings wobble that delayed the inevitable.

When Tamim and Ashraful and then Ashraful and Rokibul Hasan were building up partnerships, the win appeared closer. But when former captain Ashraful departed at the start of the 33rd over with the victory only 22 runs away, three wickets fell for just 19 runs and it took them another 8.3 overs to score the remaining runs.

But the most interesting part of the third game under lights at Mirpur was the home side's strategy of fielding five spinners at the expense of one pace bowler; a funny decision to many. One may say what's wrong with the plan when they could keep their opponents below the 200-run mark and as it's well established that their southern African opponents are weak against the slow bowlers.

Bangalore v Otago, Group C, Champions League, Bangalore

Kallis powers Bangalore to 188



Bangalore 188/2 (20/20 ov)

Otago 19/2 (3.4/20 ov)

Otago require another 170 runs with 8 wickets and 16.2 overs remaining

Bangladeshi player :Tamim's somersault!

TAMIM IQBALSports Reporter

The season's transfer market for the upcoming Premier Division Cricket League has been stirred up by the high demands of some of the national players. The chief attraction for this year's transfer market was none other than star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who not only signed a record deal with champions Abahani but also paved the way for some of his colleagues to up their price tags.

But it is the dashing opener of the national team Tamim Iqbal who has added new spice to the already heated up market as he has changed his mind suddenly to join the Mohammedan tent from their bitter rivals Abahani which will without a doubt bring the country's two popular clubs on a course of collision. And the reason for this is simple; a better offer from the Motijheel outfit.

Mohammedan may have been a bit late in making their attempt to net the big fish but they have definitely served a huge jolt to their archrivals and made a bold statement that they are all set to put aside their disappointment of the last few seasons.

The move has already caused a sharp reaction in the Abahani tent as they believe that it would totally be unethical for the left-hander to drive back from his commitment.

"It's really shocking. He [Tamim] has verbally confirmed us [Abahani] after we fulfilled his demand, but suddenly he demanded more. What he told us was that he got a better offer and can only continue with Abahani if we fulfil his demand which is unacceptable," fumed Abahani's cricket committee vice-chairman Jalal Yunus.

"There is a question of morality. We think he has set a very bad example for our cricket. Anyway we have already made up for his loss by confirming Imrul Kayes," he added.

Tamim however gave a different explanation regarding the controversy and said that the treatment he got from an Abahani official was unfortunate.

"What is for sure is that I will sign for Mohammedan tomorrow, but I have not changed my mind only because of money," was the confirmation from the left-hander about joining the Motijheel outfit.

"I want to clarify my position regarding the issue. Yes, it's true that verbally I agreed with Abahani. And I was prepared to keep my commitment but during my visit to Malaysia, I got a phone call from a Mohammedan official who offered me one lakh taka more than the amount Abahani had offered.

"What I thought was that there was no point of changing mind for this small sum of money. But they increased the amount and there is a big difference between Tk 15 lakh and 18 lakh. After returning home I contacted an Abahani official and told him politely that I have got a better offer and if you have any scope to increase the amount please do. I can't see what's wrong with that," explained Tamim to this correspondent over phone yesterday.

"We are professional players and there is nothing wrong if someone bargains over his payment. But it was really unfortunate the way one of Abahani's officials reacted in this matter," complained Tamim.

"But I definitely want to play for Abahani in the future because they are my favourite club and I have fond memories of the club when I went there with my uncle [Akram Khan] at my early age," he added.

Sri Lanka v New Zealand 2009 test cricket match 5th day

Sri Lanka 416 (Samaraweera 143, Jayawardene 92, Patel 4-78) and 311 for 5 dec (Sangakkara 109, Jayawardene 96) beat New Zealand 234 (Taylor 81, Herath 3-70, Muralitharan 3-71) and 397 (Vettori 140, Oram 56, Herath 5-139) by 96 runs

Sri Lanka were expected to wrap up victory early on the final day, but had to wait until the 68th over of the day to seal a 2-0 sweep and cement their place at No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings. They had New Zealand six wickets down for 182 at stumps on day four, but were thoroughly frustrated by a century stand between Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram in a cracking morning session. When Tillakaratne Dilshan snapped an excellent 124-run partnership by dismissing Oram two minutes before lunch, it seemed likely that victory was around the corner, but Vettori found an able ally in Iain O'Brien and the pair added 69 in 78 gut-wrenching minutes.

Sri lanka vs New Zealand 2nd test cricket match 3rd day

Test Cricket:

Sri Lanka 416 and 157 for 2 (Sangakkara 64*, Jayawardene 23*) lead New Zealand 234 (Taylor 81, Herath 3-70, Murali 3-71) by 339 runs
Sri Lanka 416 and 157 for 2 (Sangakkara 64*, Jayawardene 23*) lead New Zealand 234 (Taylor 81, Herath

Score Board: *Kumar Sangakkara 64 runes by 90 balls
Mahela Jayawardene 23 runes bt 45 balls
Skipper Kumar Sangakkara hit a second successive half-century as Sri Lanka seized control of the final cricket Test against New Zealand here on Friday.
Sri Lanka, polished by an unbroken 68-run stand between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, bolstered their grip on the second Test with a lead of 339 and eight wickets in hand - and two days to go. A torrential downpour at 4.10pm curtailed play on another day of local domination, the tone for which was set in the first session when New Zealand lost their last five wickets for 51 runs to spin.

Sri Lanka v New Zealand, 2nd Test, SSC, 2nd day

New Zealand 159 for 5 (Taylor 70*, McCullum 5*, Thushara 2-37) trail Sri Lanka 416 (Samaraweera 143,
Mahela Jayawardene 92, Sangakkara 50, Patel 4-78) by 257 runs
The contest veered between bat and ball, dominating certain passages and providing the limited crowd with entertaining viewing, but, at the end of the day, New Zealand had their backs firmly to the wall.

The match was intriguingly poised with Sri Lanka at 295 for 4, but Thilan Samaraweera, with help from Chamara Kapugedera, powered Sri Lanka into the box seat with a breezy 72-run stand. Then the tail imploded - five wickets went down for 27 - to let slip a position from which they could have batted New Zealand out of the game. Samaraweera's fourth century of the year, though, guided the home side past 400, and the Sri Lankan quick bowlers struck thrice early to grab back some of the momentum the visitors had seized.

A limp reply from New Zealand, which included the haphazard dismissal of Martin Guptill, left the middle order with too much. Dammika Prasad, taking the place of Nuwan Kulasekara, struck with his first ball to get Tim McIntosh, though replays suggested he was lucky. Thilan Thushara needed no such help in getting Daniel Flynn to nick one that pitched outside off stump and held its line.

Guptill showed brief resilience, playing some cracking on-side strokes, to race to 29 from 26 balls. Then Thushara tested him with a series of bouncers. Guptill hooked one for four. The next ball reared into his ribs and he gloved it to fine leg. A man went out to deep square leg. Three in a row followed and Guptill was visibly torn between leaving or pulling. Then he got another short one and fell for the trap, getting a top edge straight to the fielder placed back. On air, an incensed Danny Morrison called it "brainless cricket".

Ross Taylor led a passage of recovery with Jesse Ryder, adding 85. Taylor took his time, playing out 31 deliveries for 10, before opening up with some aggressive shots through the off side off Prasad. He survived an extremely tight call on 30 against Muttiah Muralitharan but continued to sweep the spinner. He was dropped on 56 off Murali, but was left looking from the other end as spin accounted for Ryder, popping to short leg, and Jeetan Patel, edging to slip.

Unfortunately for New Zealand nobody could match Taylor's defiance and shot selection and the tourists found themselves struggling for survival. New Zealand had brought themselves back into this match well after lunch after Samaraweera made 500 look a distinct possibility, but their top order failed to reciprocate.

Without Samaraweera, Sri Lanka would have really struggled. Iain O'Brien put New Zealand on the right track with a good first spell of quick bowling on an unresponsive track, dismissing Mahela Jayawardene when a hundred seemed inevitable, but the visitors again sat back to allow Samaraweera flourish. A sumptuous on-drive for four - taking him past 1000 Test runs this year - set the tone for his innings along. The eighties were a blur as Samaraweera unfurled slow-motion pulls past square, spiffy drives past cover and a couple of deft dabs.

Samaraweera slowed down after Jayawardene's dismissal, facing 14 balls when on 99, but eventually reached the landmark, after 277 minutes at the crease, with a push between cover and point off Martin. The next ball was hooked for six, a release of adrenalin. A classy drive past cover followed off Jacob Oram, who continued to bowl without pace or menace, after which Samaraweera clouted Jeetan Patel for consecutive fours, unafraid to go over the top. Kapugedera, who enjoyed a life on 9, eased his way to 35 before miscuing to mid-off four minutes before lunch.

New Zealand came out after the interval and turned in their best passage of the match. Chris Martin began the session by bouncing Prasanna Jayawardene, who top-edged to long leg. Then Patel struck, first getting Prasad to poke to slip and trapping Herath lbw next ball. His fourth victim was the man of the moment, Samaraweera, who gloved a reverse-sweep to depart for an excellent 143.

Kiwis at full-strength

New Zealand will field a full-strength team in today's second Test against Sri Lanka after the tourists were plagued by a stomach bug in the first match.
Second SL-NZ Test starts today

New Zealand had 13 of their 15 players laid low by upset stomachs and viral fever during the first Test in Galle last week, which Sri Lanka won by 202 runs to take the lead in the two-match series.

Skipper Daniel Vettori said the entire squad had trained over the past two days and his players were gearing up for a better show in the final Test at the Sinhalese sports club.

"We need players with the ability to stand throughout the game," Vettori told reporters before Tuesday's practice session.

"We will decide on the line-up before the toss. It is important to get big scores. We need to get beyond the 30s and 40s we are scoring now and get those 100s.

"We have been selling ourselves a bit short. Hopefully we will do a much better job here."

New Zealand will probably make one change from the team that lost in Galle, with fast bowler Daryl Tuffey expected to replace seamer Iain O'Brien.

Vettori himself needs just two more wickets to become only the ninth player in history to achieve the all-rounder's double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets.

The 93-Test veteran was New Zealand's star performer in Galle, with five wickets and knocks of 42 and 67 and is again expected to lead from the front.

"Records definitely motivate me," said the 30-year-old, who has scored 3,329 Test runs and taken 298 wickets since his debut in 1997.

"If you look back five years ago, my Test batting record was pretty embarrassing. I have been working hard on it. It's a nice feeling now that I can contribute a lot better and stay at the crease a lot longer."

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said he was wary of a New Zealand backlash, saying he had a lot of respect for their fighting qualities.

"We are expecting a very tough response from New Zealand," he said. "I think they are going to come back very strongly and try to win this Test, so that they have something to take back home.

"For us, we are going all out to win this game and win the series."

Sri Lanka, who are now joint second with India in the official Test rankings, will hold the number two position on their own behind South Africa if they win the series 2-0.

But Sangakkara appeared less excited at the rankings, saying it was more important to perform consistently.

"The number two position probably reflects how well we are playing, but we are not number one, and that means we have a lot more to achieve to get there," he said.

All-rounder Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the match with a hamstring strain picked up in Galle and he will be replaced by batsman Chamara Kapugedera, Sangakkara said.

"A few of the bowlers have niggles so we will just have to see who is fit at the toss," he said. "We would love to play three spinners on this track, but we have all options open."

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

The preparations for the ICC World Cup 2011 is expected to gather pace now as the ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council) has approved three stadium development projects worth Tk 152 crore yesterday to facilitate smooth holding of the showcase event in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is co-host of the cricket's mega event along with India and Sri Lanka and has been awarded eight matches including two quarterfinals and the opening ceremony.

India will host highest 29 matches out of 49 including one quarterfinal, semifinal and the final and a total of 12 matches including one quarterfinal and semifinal will be played in Sri Lanka.

The development and upgradation of the three stadia are among five development projects worth Tk 584 crore which was approved by the ECNEC at its meeting at the NEC on Tuesday.

While briefing reporters, Planning Minister AK Khandker said that Tk 293 crore of the total project cost would be met from the national exchequer while the rest Tk 291 crore would be spent from foreign aid.

Prime Minister and ECNEC chairperson Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting, attended by senior cabinet ministers and senior officials concerned.

The projects are maintenance and development of Bangabandhu National Stadium at a cost of Tk 31 crore to prepare the venue for the World Cup's inaugural ceremony, maintenance and development of Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, the home of Bangladesh cricket, at a cost of Tk 64 crore to convert it as an ICC standard stadium and maintenance and development of Fatullah Cricket Stadium at a cost of Tk 57 crore to upgrade for the cricket's biggest extravaganza.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been lagging behind in preparation and with only 17 months in hand there has hardly been any improvement in this regard, but the approval will now pave the way for uplifting the facilities of the three major venues. The tender would be floated soon through the National Sports Council (NSC).

The venue inspection team however will arrive in Dhaka in October and after completion of the inspection the match schedule will be announced the following month.

The BCB, which is also planning to host a couple of matches in Chittagong, will have to wait for budgetary approval for the port city venue as they have just submitted the DPP (development project planning) to the NSC.

Meanwhile, the ECNEC has also approved the Tk 392 crore Siddirganj-Maniknagar 230KV power transmission line and Tk 40 crore expansion and development of Chittagong College to Kapash Gola Road project under Chittagong Development Authority.

England VS Australia 5th test match

Flintoff's fling inspires England Ashes glory:
Score Board..:

England : 332 & 373/9d
Australia : 160 & 348 (102.2 over)
England won by 197 runs

England 1st And 2nd innings:
AJ Strauss 55 runes by 101 balls, IR Bell 72 runes by 137 balls, AJ Strauss 75 runes by 191 balls, IJL Trott 119 runes by 193 balls..

Australia 1st and 2nd innings:
SM Katich 50by 107 balls,SR Watson 34runes by 69 balls, MEK Hussey 121 runes by 263 balls, RT Ponting* 66runes by 103 balls.

England won the 5-match series 2-1
Umpires Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and BF Bowden (New Zealand)
TV umpire PJ Hartley
Match referee RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire JW Lloy
Man of the match: SCJ Broad (England)
Players of the series MJ Clarke (Australia) and AJ Strauss (England)

Broad and Swann give England control

England 332 (Bell 72, Siddle 4-75, Hilfenhaus 3-71) and 58 for 3 (Strauss 32*, Trott 8*) lead Australia 160 (Broad 5-37, Swann 4-38) by 230 runs

Ponting still has time for Tests

England's Andrew Flintoff may be about to call time on his Test career but retirement is not on Ricky Ponting's agenda.
This week's fifth and final Ashes Test, which starts at the Oval on Thursday will Flintoff, has said, be the last of the injury-prone all-rounder's career.
But Australia captain Ponting, whose side need only a draw in south London to retain the Ashes with the series all square at 1-1, is not thinking about departing the Test scene just yet.
At the age of 34, this could be Ponting's final Test tour of England and a series win would go some way to making up for the disappointment of Australia's 2-1 Ashes reverse on English soil in 2005.
But for Ponting the thrill of leading an Australia side without such star names as the retired quintet of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer still remains fresh.
"I've never put a time-frame on when I am thinking about finishing my international career," Ponting, Australia's all-time leading run scorer and a veteran of 135 Tests, told reporters at the Oval here on Wednesday.
"It's been one of the big challenges of my career and we've had some good successes along the way," explained Ponting, who led Australia to a series win in South Africa this year.
England famously celebrated their Ashes triumph four years ago with an open-topped bus parade through the streets of London.
But whatever the outcome of the fifth Test, Australia will be boarding a train the day after the scheduled finish for a one-day international against Scotland in Edinburgh.
Ponting has become something of a pantomime villain figure for many England fans at grounds during this series and the booing got so bad that spectators were asked, in the Headingley programme, by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), chairman Giles Clarke to stop jeering him.
"Last week at Canterbury (in Australia's final warm-up match) was terrific. I got clapped on the ground and I got clapped off, but that might have been because I only made 45 I got clapped off.
"I've enjoyed every moment of this series. It's been great Test match cricket and it's been great to be part of an Ashes series like this. I think it just goes to show that Test cricket is alive and well, and we are all really enjoying these bigger series we are playing in.

Welcome Bangladeshi heroes

Cricket news :

The victorious Bangladesh cricket team returned home late yesterday from their successful 51-day tour of the West Indies and Zimbabwe to a raucous welcome at the Zia International Airport.

Ministers, board members and officials were joined by a nearly two thousand strong gathering of fans, including numerous close family members of the players, who greeted their heroes with garlands of flowers and joyous chants of “Congratulations” & “Welcome”.

Such success is unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh cricket and the mass turnout showcased exactly how much this success means to the people.

Victorious captain Shakib al Hasan, who was thrust into the role following the pull-out of Mashrafe bin Mortaza, was visibly beaming at the press conference.

“We had gone into this series with the hope of just playing good cricket after our disastrous performance in the T20 World Cup, but this achievement is glorious.

“This has come about after two years of hard work and we are just now bearing the fruits of our labour,” said Shakib.

The all-rounder who has led from the front also had a word of warning.

“I would think that our players will go home tonight revelling in this glory but come back tomorrow morning seeking new challenges. As great as this is, we need to put this win behind us and look forward,” continued the left-hander.

Wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, whose sparkling knock sealed the series in Zimbabwe, seconded his captain.

“The victory is the result of an all-round team performance. Everyone did well and this will raise our confidence for continued success.”

Mohammad Ashraful, the target of much flak for his subdued performances prior to this tour, managed to hit back at his critics with some good knocks including a century against Zimbabwe.

And the mercurial right-hander appealed to the media for more support for himself and his teammates.

England VS Australia T20 cricket match

Watch T20 cricket.......

Sunday August 30, 2009 time 19:30, GMT+0600 (Central Asia Standard Time)

1st Twenty20 International cricket match - England vs Australia.
Old Trafford. Manchester

New Zeland VS Sri lanka 2nd test match 2009

Sri Lanka vs New Zeland 2nd test match will be play Wednesday,26Augest 2009.
This match will be play Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo.
This match starts from: 04:30 GMT (10:00 IST) Test New Zealand Tour of Sri Lanka 2009 Test Match...

Bangladesh VS Zimbabwe cricket match

Bangladesh 212 for 5 (Mushfiqur 98, Price 2-21) beat Zimbabwe 209 (Taylor 61, Price 46, Dolar 4-28) by ive wicketsts.Bangladesh won by 5 wickets (with 13 balls remaining)
Dolar Mahmud : 4 wickts by 8 overs

After three consecutive run-fests, the bowlersfinally had their say. Zimbabwe won the toss but thoughts of repeating the 312 they posted in the fourth match were undone by an incisive opening spell from Dolar Mahmud. A lower-order revival pushed the score to 210 but it wasn't enough to challenge Bangladesh, who stormed to a 4-1 series win thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim's 98

ICC sets date to resolve Pak World Cup row

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan board chiefs will meet later this month with a view to resolving their dispute over the staging of the 2011 World Cup.
ICC President David Morgan and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt will meet in Dubai on Aug. 27 to discuss the distribution of 14 matches to co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after they were moved out of Pakistan due to security concerns.
"Although nothing has yet been agreed, there remains a strong will on both sides to conclude this matter as soon as possible without recourse to legal means," Morgan said in a statement on Saturday.
"With that in mind we will meet in Dubai with a view to reaching a resolution that is acceptable to both parties."
The officials spoke by telephone on Friday to help narrow the differences.
"In the light of our latest discussions I remain confident we can achieve that goal, something that would allow all of us, the ICC and its members, to focus on our key objective-the staging of a successful World Cup in the Asian sub-continent in 2011."
Pakistan mounted a legal challenge in May after the ICC decided to move all the matches out of the country following the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March.
The PCB failed in its bid to stage the matches at a neutral venue and is now eager not to lose the revenue it would have earned by hosting the matches on home soil.

Wright eyes KKR job

John Wright, a current New Zealand selector and former India coach, has confirmed he is in the running for the coach's position at the Kolkata Knight Riders. The IPL franchise recently sacked John Buchanan after two poor seasons.

"Yes, they have been talking to me," Wright told the Hindu while in Chennai with the New Zealand A side. "Let's see how it goes. One day I would love to come back to India."

Duncan Fletcher and Richard Pybus are also in the fray along with other candidates, are expected to meet the franchise management at owner Shah Rukh Khan's house in Mumbai next weekend.

Wright, a former New Zealand batsman, had a successful five-year stint as India's coach during which India won a historic series against Australia in 2001 at home, won in Pakistan in 2003, and also reached the final of the 2003 World Cup.

If Kolkata appoint Wright, he will be working with Ganguly, who was the national captain during his five-year stint as India coach, for at least a year. Ganguly will be playing his third season at Kolkata and at 37 it is unclear whether he will extend his contract. It has been reported that Wright's relationship with Ganguly turned a bit rocky towards the end of those five years but Wright has always insisted he respected and appreciated Ganguly. He said the two still kept in touch.

"We had our differences and had different opinions, Wright said. "These were strong opinions too. But at the end of the day, we trusted each other. He was good with the young boys and gave the side aggression. We shared a common goal. I was very impressed in the manner he staged a comeback and went out on his own terms. Ganguly showed he was a fighter."

Murali back in action with Kiwis

Murali returns against Kiwis
Afp, Colombo

World bowling record holder Muttiah Muralidaran will reinforce Sri Lanka for next week's first Test against New Zealand after missing the Pakistan series due to injury.

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 3rd ODI

Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe 3rd ODI will be played in Bulaway at 9:30 local time.
Bangladesh is leading the series 2-0 in 5 ODI. Bangladesh is confident after 2nd ODI with crushing victory. Skipper Sakib-Al-Hasan made 104 runs from 67 balls. He said that they can win the series 5-0.

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan T20 Cricket Match

Srilanka vs Pakistan T20 Cricket Match played
12/08/2009.
Pakistan won by 52 runs
Player of the match Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)
Umpires EAR de Silva and TH Wijewardene
TV umpire MG Silva
Match referee AG Hurst (Australia)
Reserve umpire AG Dissanayake
Score board:Pakistan 172/5
Srilanka 120/10